VCU Dance: Traffic@St. Mark’s. May, 2006 performance of students and alumni in New York City was documented in the September, 2006 issue of Dance Magazine
VCU DANCE hosts the 2005
MID-ATLANTIC REGION AMERICAN COLLEGE DANCE FESTIVAL
Richmond, VA—The Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Dance and Choreography is proud to host the 2005 Mid-Atlantic Region American College Dance Festival, March 16-20, 2005, when over 500 students and faculty from 35 institutions in 10 different states will visit VCU for four days of master classes, workshops, and adjudicated performances.
The Festival will open with a performance by Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company at the W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, March 16 at 8:00 pm. VCU Dance is delighted to welcome the company—now celebrating their 20th Anniversary Season—to Richmond, where they will perform two early works and one recent premiere.
The adjudicators for this year's festival are Claire Porter, Doug Nielsen, and Robin Wilson. Guest artist Martha Myers will conduct a workshop offering two to three selected choreographers from the ACDF Informal Concert an opportunity to show their work and participate in a dialogue with herself and among each other, focusing on issues in making art.
Master teachers during this Festival will include Adrienne Clancy, Gerri Houlihan, Sharon Kinney, Ray Eliot Schwartz, Clay Taliaferro, Frances Wessells, Helanius Wilkins and many more.
School participating in the Festival include: American University, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing Arts, Catawba College, Colorado College, Dickinson College, Emory University, Franklin & Marshall College, George Mason University, George Washington University, Hollins University, James Madison University, Kean University, Meredith College, Montclair State University, Muhlenberg College, North Carolina State University, Northern Essex Community College, Ohio University, Old Dominion University, Radford University, Salem College, Shenandoah University, Sweet Briar College, Temple University, Towson University, University of Florida, University of Maryland, University of Maryland-Baltimore County, University of North Carolina—Charlotte, University of Pittsburgh, University of Richmond, Valdosta State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, West Chester University and Wittenberg University.
VCU Dance's hosting of the 2005 Mid-Atlantic Region American College Dance Festival is funded in part by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, the Virginia Commission for the Arts, and Altria Group, Inc. The VCU Department of Dance and Choreography is committed to building and enlightening dance audiences in the University and Richmond community while providing opportunities for artists to present and create work. Recognized by professional dancers and choreographers as "a place where things are happening," Virginia Commonwealth University's Department of Dance and Choreography offers a vibrant and stimulating atmosphere where students prepare for careers in Dance. For more information contact Katrina Clemans at (804) 828-1711.
VCU Dance takes part in National Celebration of University Dance at Kennedy Center
By Malorie Janis, University News Services and Katrina Clemans, VCU Dance
Aug. 5, 2004
Virginia Commonwealth University's Department of Dance recently participated in the National Celebration of University Dance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., where it performed a suite from Jose Limón's masterwork "A Choreographic Offering."
The group appeared at the invitation of the National College Choreography Initiative and performed the suite from the late Mexican-born modern dancer and choreographer's work on the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage. The performance was scheduled in tandem with the National American College Dance Festival, so the audience included dance students, teachers and professionals from all over the United States.
This year, VCU Dance received a grant from NCCI to have Limón Company soloist and master teacher Clay Taliaferro restage the Limón masterwork on VCU Dance students. VCU Students performed a section of the work in concert with the Limón Company, and the entire suite in the VCU Dance 2004 Student Faculty Concert.
NCCI is a leadership initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional support by the Dana Foundation administered by Dance/USA, the national service organization for professional dance. Through NCCI, colleges and universities nationwide bring together professional dance artists with college students to restage classic American dances or to create new works.
To view an archival webcast of VCU Dance students performing Jose Limón's Choreographic Offering at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, visit http://www.kennedy-center.org/.
VCU Dance Presents Dancing with Horses
Virginia Commonwealth University's Department of Dance and Choreography will present Dancing with Horses, "Equus I" on Saturday, April 3, 2004 at 1 p.m. at an equestrian center in Manakin-Sabot. Called "an astonishing effort" by Dance Magazine, Dancing with Horses is a unique performance form that partners dancers with horses and their riders. According to choreographer and company Artistic Director JoAnna Mendl Shaw, Dancing with Horses seeks to reveal the inner workings of equine/human relationships.
In a new performance work being created during this research residency at VCU, DWH will depart from the use of formal dressage and enter the world of natural horsemanship, where humans and horses respond to each other in the context of both play and work. Through this project, VCU Dance majors and area riders will experience the dynamics of the interface between dancer and horse and have the opportunity to work closely with the DWH company. Performers will include DWH dancers and their equestrian collaborator, Maddrey Baker, joined by community riders and 15 VCU dance majors.
This collaboration will be presented in a public performance that combines video and sound technology with the live dance/equestrian performance. The use of prerecorded and live video images will capture in close-up images the details of interaction between human and horse. Videographer Peter Richards will be an integral part of the performance, and his visuals will give the audience a visceral experience of the power and subtlety of this innovative work.
Martha Curtis, chair of the Department of Dance and Choreography, believes that the residency with DWH embodies the Department's mission of stretching both the public and students' perception of "what dance can be, where dance can happen, and who can dance." She emphasizes the project's potential in terms of community outreach and exciting interface with schools, saying, "the theories of physical learning that this work is based on create a wonderful foundation for working with children." The Department will coordinate an outreach workshop with DWH company members and children from a local public school. The DWH residency will also include a clinic for riders focusing on alignment, skeletal and muscular connections, personal body assessments, and injury prevention.
The venue for this performance is an equestrian center in Manakin-Sabot. Parking restrictions at the venue require audience members to arrive via shuttle service. Pick-up in the city will be at 11:45 a.m. and 12 p.m. at the Grace Street Theater, 934 W. Grace St. In addition, continuous shuttle service will be offered from 12 until 12:45 p.m. from the Food Lion parking lot, 30 Broad St., located at the intersection of Route 250/Broad Street and Manakin Road in Manakin-Sabot, less than one mile from the venue. Tickets will be sold in advance only for this event and are $15, or free to VCU students with valid ID. Call the Grace Street Theater Box office at (804) 828-2020 for ticket information.
The presentation of Dancing with Horses is made possible in part by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation. The presenting program of VCU Dance is committed to building and enlightening the dance audience in the University and Richmond community while providing opportunities for artists to present and create work. Recognized by professional dancers and choreographers as "a place where things are happening," Virginia Commonwealth University's Department of Dance and Choreography offers a vibrant and stimulating atmosphere where students prepare for careers in Dance.
Limón Dance Company: A Modern Dance Treasure
Virginia Commonwealth University's Department of Dance and Choreography will present The Limón Dance Company on October 10th at 8 p.m. and October 11th at 2 and 8 p.m. at the Grace Street Theater. Known the world over for their dramatic expression, technical mastery and expansive, yet nuanced, movement, the Village Voice asserts "... for drama, virtuosity, and grace, there's no finer company."
Founded in 1946 by Mexican-American José Limón and Doris Humphrey, the Company's repertory, which balances classic works with commissions from contemporary choreographers, is a modern dance treasure. Among the pieces to be presented is the acclaimed revival of Limón's 1967 masterwork "Psalm," the story of one man's effort to contain the sufferings of the world, recently featured in the Salt Lake City Olympic Arts Festival. A tribute to Native American chiefs and the prowess of the male dancer, "Unsung," an unforgettable work accompanied only by the physical sounds — running, stamping, leaping, breathing — of the movement, will also be part of the program.
Richmond audiences last greeted the Company and José Limón with standing ovations and sold-out houses at the Virginia Museum in 1963 and 1965. Their return accompanies a new, flourishing era for the Company. With Limón's passing in 1972, his tradition has been kept alive by artistic director and former principle dancer Carla Maxwell, and the vision and work of the Limón Institute, which directs activities designed to extend the Limón heritage.
Building on the Institute's mission, former Limón dancer, Limón master teacher and native Virginian, Clay Taliaferro is set to restage Limón's masterwork "A Choreographic Offering" on VCU dance majors, portions of which will appear in the concert. Former VCU Dance student and current Limón company member, Charles Scott will return to the Grace Street Theater stage. Donald McKayle, Ann Vachon and Carla Maxwell will travel to Richmond in the weeks leading up to the performances holding community master classes, book signings, documentary film commentaries and lecture/demonstrations.
The Grace Street Theater is located at 934 W. Grace St. Tickets are $20 or free to VCU students with valid ID. Call the Grace Street Theater box office at (804) 828-2020 for ticket information.
The presentation of the Limón Dance Company is made possible in part by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, Virginia Commission for the Arts, and The National College Choreography Initiative (NCCI), a Leadership Initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts with additional support by the Dana Foundation, administered by Dance/USA, the national service organization for professional dance.
Virginia Commonwealth University
School of the Arts
Department of Dance and Choreography
dance@vcu.edu
Date Last Modified: 8/21/2008